California Fish and Game Commission Adopts the California Pacific Herring Fishery Management Plan

At its October 10, 2019 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted the California Pacific Herring Fishery Management Plan (Herring FMP). The Herring FMP establishes a cohesive strategy to guide the sustainable management of California’s commercial and recreational Pacific Herring fisheries, as required by the Marine Life Management Act.

Environmental Disaster Continues to Decimate Bull Kelp Forests and Red Abalone Populations in Northern California

Divers prepare for 2018 surveys at Caspar Cove on the Mendocino County coast. photo by K. Joe

Urchins and a lone abalone scour the rocky sea floor looking for food. photo by K. Joe

Empty abalone shells at Van Damme State Marine Conservation Area, 2018. photo by K. Joe

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has monitored northern California kelp forest ecosystems and red abalone populations for the past 20 years. Surveys completed in the summer of 2018 continued to document mass abalone starvation and population collapse.

Upcoming Regulation Changes for Commercial Dungeness Crab and Other Trap Fisheries

Dungeness crab
CDFW photo by C. Juhasz

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is developing several important regulation changes that will affect the commercial Dungeness crab fleet and other trap fisheries in 2020 and beyond.

Final Draft of California Pacific Herring Fishery Management Plan Submitted to Fish and Game Commission

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reached an important milestone on September 24, 2019 with the submission of the Final Draft California Pacific Herring Fishery Management Plan to the California Fish and Game Commission. The Commission will consider adopting the fishery management plan and regulations that implement the plan at their October 9-10, 2019 meeting in Valley Center, California.

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post by Thomas Greiner, CDFW Environmental Scientist

Reducing the Risk of Marine Life Entanglement

Humpback whale
CDFW photo by P. Serpa

The Dungeness crab fishery has undergone significant changes due to new legislation, changing ocean conditions, and more recently risk of marine life entanglement, specifically with whales and sea turtles. The following update provides important information on several items affecting the commercial fleet.